Here We Are, National Theatre - Review

by Sue Moore

From lyricist on West Side Story, to his final, unfinished work, Here We Are, Stephen Sondheim has created a breath of work straddling the complexity of theatre with the musical intricacy of opera.

Here We Are begins with the arrival of guests at Leo (Rory Kinnear) and Marianne Brink’s (Jane Krakowski) luxury apartment. Their friends, Paul (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), his wife Claudia (Martha Plimpton), the ambassador of Moranda, Raffael (Paulo Szot), and Marianne’s younger sister Fritz (Chumisa Dornford-May) are convinced they have all been invited for brunch. The group decide that it doesn’t matter who has made the mistake and Leo announces that he will take them all out to eat. As they drive to the restaurant, the wives discuss the beauty of the day while Leo, Raffael and Paul whisper about their most recent drug deal and Fritz plans global catastrophe under the code name ‘Apocalypse’ with the anonymous ‘Inferno’. The friends are joined by multiple waiting staff (played by Denis O’Hare and Tracie Bennett), army officials (Colonel Martin - Cameron Johnson, Soldier - Richard Fleeshman) and a Bishop (Harry Hadden-Paton) finally ending up at the Moranda Embassy for a slap-up meal and a lot more than they bargained for.

The set, designed by David Zinn, begins and ends as a white box. This works beautifully for the final scene, when we return to the ‘norm’ from the oddities of the Embassy, but fails to root the drama in the ‘here and now’ at the beginning of the piece. With a blank stage, the opening scene relies upon fairly static delivery and the band, lead superbly by Conductor Nigel Lilley, often overpowers, making this the initial scenario difficult to follow. That being said, the band play superbly and the whole production is very musically ‘tight’. Stylised movement is very effectively used throughout by Choreographer Sam Pinkleton and blends well with Joe Mantello’s direction.  The stand out performances come from the supporting cast with Denis O’Hare and Tracie Bennett both putting in fantastic turns as a variety of characters and the brilliant Harry Hadden-Paton as the Bishop.

While this feels like an incredibly slick ‘workshop’ performance, the themes and almost Orwellian characters symbolising different groups of modern society will leave me pondering this piece for some time. Is it a final Sondheim masterpiece? We’ll never know. Will you leave the theatre questioning the future of humanity? Quite possibly.

Cherubini Requiem & Opera Choruses - Review by Sue Moore

Wymondham Choral Society

Saturday 5th April 2025, 7.30pm

St Mary’s Church, Attleborough

The ancient frescoes of St. Mary’s church in Attleborough were a lovely backdrop for the Wymondham Choral Society spring concert this evening.  Wymondham Choral Society is an amateur choir, established in 1980, and made up of approximately forty to fifty singers who perform three concerts annually.  

The programme began with Cherubini’s Requiem, a piece that was new to me, which opened with an exquisite pianissimo from the choir, under the expert musical direction of Justin Bindley and sensitive piano accompaniment of Rob Goodrich. What a treat to hear such a wide range of dynamics and vocal colours which made the opening movement very still and moving. An exquisite piece which showcased the choir’s attractive and balanced ensemble sound, the dramatic Dies Irae was also another highlight within this serene and contemplative first half. This Requiem is a challenging piece in terms of stamina (it is a big sing for the choir with no soloists), but it was thrilling as an audience member to see and hear a choir who were so focused on the piece and its performance, always wanting to give their best. The choir fortissimo never extended beyond their vocal capabilities, a Rover cruising at sixty rather than a Daihatsu Hijet van flooring it to get to seventy - a quality that many choral societies should be advised to emulate.

All good programmes should have something new, something surprising and some tunes that everyone knows. For the second half two soloists, Soprano Laura Morgan and Tenor David Menezes, were enlisted for a programme of opera favourites. Laura joined the chorus for the Cavalleria Rusticana Easter Hymn, as well as performing Carmen’s Habanera and Violetta’s Addio, del passato, spinning a beautiful solo line across the ensemble singing. David Menezes sang well with solid technique and musicality which was was especially showcased in the ‘Scottish Opera’ Macduff aria, A, la paterna mano as well as the Duke’s toe tapping opening aria, Questa o quella from Verdi’s Rigoletto.

A very enjoyable evening in a beautiful setting. The audience were enthusiastic in their applause, a fitting ‘thank you’ for the skills and hard work involved in making an event like this happen. Choral Societies only thrive when supported by the community so don’t miss their summer concert at Wymondham Abbey, 19th July 2025 where they will be performing Paul Carr’s Stabat Mater, Matthew Coleridge’s Requiem, and Ola Gjello’s The Ground.

Amazing **** reviews for The Dancing Master at Buxton Opera House!

”Moore has a grand time nailing her postwar thespian types: Graeme Broadbent is the ripe old stager in bow tie and waistcoat, Eleanor Dennis is the pert ingénue; and David Webb, all flannel slacks and brilliantine, plays a Dirk Bogarde-like matinée idol. Mark Wilde — as a spivvy, moustachioed comedian playing a Frenchman (or as Wycherley puts it, ‘a whimsical, gibbering snail-eater’) with all the ’Allo’ Allo! subtlety of old-school rep — comes close to bringing the house down”

THE SPECTATOR - 21/07/2021